Retired Police Officer Succeeds in Animal Raising
Over the years, retired Police Major Avelino Peralta of Dauis Nome, Carmen, Cebu City has earned citations for his exemplary performance in law enforcement. Now he is again recognized for his outstanding performance, not in maintaining peace and order; but in animal raising.
He is recently named most outstanding smallhold animal raiser in Central Visayas Region. Good for this 65-years-old retired police that his childhood dream of having a profitable farm has come true at last. “Major P,” as his friends in the force fondly call him, used his retirement pay to acquire and establish 1.5-hectare farm. Here he raises 100 head of free-range native chicken and a number of sows and imported and native goats.
“Tiyo Bill,” as his neighbors call him, started with a few head of native goats. Then when he got his retirement pay five years ago he bought his first pair of Anglo Nubian breeders at P75,000 and crossed these with his natives. To further upgrade his ruminants, he bought a Boer by availing of the boar loan program of the Department of Agriculture Region 7.
Through careful selection , and breeding, the animals rapidly grew in number. Only does with multiple kids are kept, while those with only one offspring are sold after the first calving. He also follows a strict deworming program and practices ear tagging to trace the progeny of his animals.
Tiyo Bill also grows fruit trees and rootcrops in his farm. He planted banana, jackfruit, mango, guava, papaya, and vegetables and rootcrops for food.
To control growth of weeds prevent soil erosion and save on the cost of feeds, he planted Napier grass and Flemingia under fruit trees. And with these forages, he saves about 75 percent on his ruminants’ feed requirement. He also feeds the excess banana suckers to his ruminants for added forage, and incorporates flemingia together with manure and other farm wastes into the soil for fertilization.
In 2008, Tiyo Bill earned a net income of P361,000 from the sale of piglets and fatteners. In the same year, he also raked in a net income of P262,000 from the sale of 24 head of six-month-old goats, and got P57,000 from the 31,000 pieces of bananas he harvested last year.
The reason his farming is going so well is because he puts premium on record keeping to keep track of farm operations and projected cost and profit. Another reason is that he updates himself with new farm technologies by attending seminars and regularly consulting agricultural technicians. But the best thing he does with his agribusiness is he sends the children of his poor neighbors to college. Today some of his scholars are now teachers, others are seamen, and one is a priest. Now this is a very noble deed isn’t it?
He is also proud that he is able to provide more than what his family needs, and this is what truly makes him happy.
“There is money and fulfillment in farming, but only if a farmer is hardworking, patient, and has common sense,” Tiyo Bill said.
By Merilyn Pepito-Talagon